About Asbestos Insulating Boards
Asbestos insulating board (also known as AIB) is a friable board that has been used for a wide variety of fire-retardant purposes in both residential and commercial properties.
Insulating boards can be know by a verity of names such as:- ‘Asbestolux’, ‘Turnasbestos’, ‘LDR’, ‘asbestos wallboard’, ‘insulation board’. Marine boards known as ‘Marinite’ or ‘Shipboard’.
Asbestos Insulating Boards are found in a variety of forms including:-
Partition walls
Fireproofing panels in fire doors
Ceiling tiles
Soffits
Wall lining panels
Shuttering
Notice boards
Acoustic boards
Firebreaks
The manufacture of asbestos boards was eventually phased out prior to 1980, however due to materials remaining in circulation any board installed prior to 1999 should be assumed to contain asbestos until proven otherwise.
Boards can often be hidden behind other materials such as timber cladding, textured coating or within ducts and other rarely accessed areas. If any material is suspected to be AIB then all work should be hauled and the material tested.
Asbestos In Boards
Insulating Boards will generally contain 15–25% of chrysotile (white asbestos) and amosite (brown asbestos) mix. Some older boards and some marine boards contain up to 40% asbestos.
Like many asbestos containing materials asbestos insulating boards can be left in situ and is not considered to pose a threat to health if in good condition and left undisturbed.
Due to the highly friable nature of the insulating boards a strong risk of fibre release may occur if disturbed or damaged.
If there is uncertainty to whether a material is asbestos insulating board then a water absorption test will be required to determine if the material is a licensed material that may require a licensed contractor to carry out the work or another material that is classified as non-licensed.
Insulating Boards are considered to be a licensed product by the HSE. You will need to employ a licensed contractor to carry out any removal, encapsulation or repair works on asbestos boards and require a 14 day notification from the Health & Safety Executive.
If you have this material in your residential or commercial property and are worried it might contain asbestos our sampling kits are a perfect way to safely sample and test any suspect boards.
